Those of you who have been around for a while remember that I used to post “worthwhile reads” posts but then sort of mysteriously stopped. Well, I have been posting every “worthwhile read” I come upon on twitter, and things are now set up such that each of those will also go to the Love, Joy, Feminism facebook page. So if you’re not into twitter and want to see what I’ve found interesting lately, you can always head over to my facebook page.

I wanted to mention something about last Monday’s post that went viral. One of you asked how it went viral – who linked it. The answer is everybody. There was no one huge site that linked my post. Instead, practically every one of you all shared it on facebook. In fact, one hundred and eleven thousand people, all told, shared my post on facebook. And by that I mean 111,000 individual people. I think this is an amazing example of the power social media grants to each of us as individuals.

I want to say one more thing about that post. The number of page views it has generated is simply unprecedented in the history of my blogging career, but that is not what I am most proud of. What I am most proud of is the amount of conversations I started with that post, conversations between ordinary people from facebook to the dinner table. Whether my post changed any minds or not – and the comments on it indicate that it did change at least a few – what I am most proud of is motivating people think. My goal here on my blog is not and has never been to tell people what to think. In fact, doing that would be antithetical to the values I hold most dear. The way this post started conversations and motivated people to think about the same old things in new or interesting ways? That is my goal.

And what you all did, sharing it on facebook over, and over, and over again? That was crucial. I honestly and truly couldn’t have done it without you. You have more power than you realize.

Libby Anne grew up in a large evangelical homeschool family highly involved in the Christian Right. College turned her world upside down, and she is today an atheist, a feminist, and a progressive. She blogs about leaving religion, her experience with the Christian Patriarchy and Quiverfull movements, the detrimental effects of the "purity culture," the contradictions of conservative politics, and the importance of feminism.

Because of recent changes facebook has made, it is unlikely that many would-be readers will be able to accurately keep up with you there. Unless you are willing to pay for it, facebook will only show your posts to about 15% of the people who “like” you there. Because of this problem, I’ve recently set up a google reader account, and have added your blog to that.

Also, hello, I’m a new reader who saw that post because so many folks shared it on facebook, and then shared it herself, and then watched other folks share it, and then decided she wanted to read more. As someone raised in a highly secular household, I find your writing about your childhood absolutely fascinating.

lane

Libby Anne, I’ve been reading here since way back when you were on blogspot, and I wanted to say I am SOOO impressed by what you’ve managed to do, especially with what transpired with the pro-life movement post (which, by the way, I think was your best post ever). Your readership appears to have exploded since I started following you. It’s not without good reason. Your writing is insightful, thoughtful, and lacks the sensationalism that can be really off-putting. I hope you realize what an amazing thing you have done with your blog. Even though I don’t know you, between reading your blog and having the same background as you, I feel like I sort of do, so I want to take a second to say that I’m so proud of you for what you’ve managed to do. You should be proud of yourself too. I hope someday I’m even half as awesome as you.

http://junglehope.wordpress.com Lana Hope

I posted it on FB for precisely that reason. It was thought-provoking, and you had logical points, even though I did not agree with all points. I’m a thinker, and I like my ideas challenged. I’d rather be around people who think and I disagree with than the people who just believe something because they always have.